SpotLight.

A Closer Look at Kimberly Reed Photography.

Her Style.

Kimberly Reed loves to express herself through her photography. She wants her images to stir emotion in people and make them think. “Photography is a form of communication that crosses all language barriers,” she realizes.

As a wedding photographer, Kimberly feels fortunate to capture the important moments of a couple’s big day. “It is such an honor,” knows Kimberly, “to preserve these precious moments for someone forever.” She knows the couple will cherish their wedding album for the rest of their lives.

Capturing some creative shots of the couple before or after the ceremony is something that Kimberly always looks forward to. “I love getting gorgeous, fashion-inspired photos of the bride and groom together,” says Kimberly. She aims to create works that make her subjects feel beautiful.

According to Kimberly, a women is her most beautiful on her wedding day. “It’s not just the dress, the hair, and the make-up, it’s the excitement and anticipation of marrying the man you love that makes the beauty just radiate!”

Her Background.

Kimberly started her photography business in 2006. “Before that, I dabbled in photography, but just wasn’t ready to take the leap and make it my full-time career,” she remembers.

Kimberly has always been inclined toward the visual arts and has her degree in graphic design. “I never imagined I’d become a wedding photographer, but it was just a natural progression for me.” Kimberly feels blessed to make a career out of what she loves.

Her Business.

Kimberly Reed Photography is based in Pittsburgh PA, but she travels to weddings throughout the country. “I’d love to venture even farther, to places like Mexico, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe,” considers Kimberly. It is important to her to give a really personal experience to her couples, so she limits the number of wedding she shoots each year. “I like to be thoroughly prepared for each wedding.” Her pre-wedding repertoire includes charging batteries, formatting her CF cards, packing her gear bag, and checking directions.

Kimberly always makes sure to bring along her Canon 5d and the 70-200 2.8IS lens. This allows her to capture people candidly. According to Kimberly, “You get the purest sense of who someone is when they aren’t aware the camera is around.”

Before the wedding, Kimberly also makes time to think creatively about what types of shots she will capture. If she needs inspiration, she can turn to the work of some of her favorite photographers, like Jesh de Rox, Nate Kaiser from The Image Is Found, The Wiebners, and Huy Nguyen from f8 Studio.

Kimberly is an avid blog reader…from photography blogs, to marketing blogs, to business blogs. “I have close to 100 blogs on my blogreader,” she laughs. “Also, I participate on the Pictage forums and I lurk on OSP.”

Kimberly recently had a photo place 11th in the last WPJA contest. “It was the first contest I’ve entered and so I was excited to have placed amongst so many fabulous photographers,” she reflects.

Kimberly is looking forward to where her business is headed. She just hired an associate photographer and moved into a new studio. In the coming years, she hopes to continue to grow her business and challenge herself creatively.

Kimberly plans to continue to participate in projects that inspire her, such as the Abandoned Spaces exhibit she was featured in this past year. The exhibit displayed the scenes that get left behind when people move on. “There is something compelling about these snapshots into people’s lives,” reflects Kimberly, “I want to document them before they’re gone forever.”

Kimberly is also passionate about using her photography to help improve the living conditions in third world countries. “I really want to give back to my community and the world,” plans Kimberly. She is hoping to position her business so she can take time every year to donate her services and travel internationally to photograph people and situations whose stories need to be told.